What Do YOU Want The Future of TTRPGs To Look Like?

[Ath'kethin]

Folks often think of F2F and VTT as opposed, when really they are complimentary. More folks playing, means more options.

Oh, absolutely. And VTTs alllow access ot the game for people who can't get to a F2F game for whatever reason as well. I understand that; I've been running a second game online for my kid and his friends through Roll20 because they all live 3,000 ish miles from me. I'm not disparaging VTTs at all; I love the fact that I can easily play, for free, with folks who are nowhere near me and the fact that the option exists is nothing short of miraculous IMO.

I also know of folks who use VTTs in their F2F games, building tables with built in monitors to use the VTT mapping software and other resources. I can't do that myself, but I would love it if I could. There's room for everybody, and as you say, more tools and options mean more people playing, and that can only ever be good for the hobby/industry and those of us who love it.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I'd like to see it less centralised around a single game. I don't think that does the industry any favours.

Yeah for me this is the main thing I'd like to see longer-term.

If there were like, five or ten "major" RPGs and a large number of smaller ones that were doing decently, I think we'd be in a much better position than with one gigantic RPG and a lot of very small to completely tiny ones.

I don't know if we will see, but we were kind of on the way there in the 1990s so I don't think it's impossible.

Either way, my vision of the future of RPGs is diverse in all senses of the word. I think we're kind of seeing that right now outside the D&D space.

The other thing I would like to see is just a better way to learn about new RPGs. Currently, it's very hard, perhaps impossible, to really know about everything that's going on out there, even with helpful news sites like this one. Because you have so many vectors that you might discover RPGs by - Kickstarter and its various relatives, Drivethru, Itch.io, RPGs that are only available from their publishers and didn't have Kickstarters or the like, and so on. I keep seeing cool RPGs that actually came out like, 1-8 years ago.

 

[Faolyn]

For D&D to have less dominance in the industry.

Further quality of life updates to VTT's, making them easier to run and more accessible.

I already have a set of amber dice.

I thought Amber was diceless.

 

[SlyFlourish]

Ever since D&D was first packaged in that little brown box, TTRPGs have evolved in both form and function, as well as what tools folks have on hand to facilitate play. There is no reason to believe that will not continue, especially given that we now have lots of tools (VTTs, for example) that the early days could barely have imagined.

So, when you think about the future of TTRPGs and your own preferences about what form they take, what tools you have at hand, and how you engage with them as well as how you engage with fellow gamers and fans, what do you want the future of TTRPGs to look like? Do you long for a amber-frozen world of hardcovers and math rocks? Do you dream of a Kurtzweilian all digital frontier of play? Do you want immersive V/AR and and AI GM, or a handful of folks around a table snacking on cheetos and Mt. Dew?

I would love to see continued support for in-person and online support from many different RPG companies. I love the incredible variety of RPG products and full systems we see that cover so many ideas. I want to see more people experiment with systems and try out new things.

I'd love to see more publishers publish their products in more accessible and stand-alone formats like EPUB and Markdown. I've started doing this with all of my own books. The idea that people should read a PDF formatted for 8.5" by 11" on a phone just doesn't make sense. EPUB isn't in the workflow for most publishers and I doubt most customers even know or care but I'd love to see it.

I'd love to see less of a focus on centralized online tools. I'd love to see more open tools that can be hosted on multiple platforms like Foundry. I'd love to see more continued support for open system designs -- more SRDs from more publishers so other people can build tools, accessories, and other things for them.

We live in an age where a lot of big and medium sized companies want to trap people into silos and generate revenue from them forever or until they decide to stop supporting whatever platform they're building. RPGs are uniquely situated to avoid this and I think that's wonderful. So... more of that.

 

[SlyFlourish]

On the topic of the centralization around D&D, I think its just the reality of the industry but that's ok for the most part as long as WOTC continues to make good Ulysses pacts around their products and the support for the industry. A 5.2 SRD is a good pact. Support for stand-alone VTTs like Foundry and Fantasy Grounds is a good pact. Continuing to support physical books is a good pact.

I'd stated a few times that the big things I was looking for for WOTC to be good stewards of the larger hobby were:

• D&D 2024 core books published physically (so we can keep them forever)
• Support for multiple VTTs (Roll20, Foundry, and Fantasy Grounds)
• A 5.2 SRD
• A good starter set

I think they're accomplishing all of these.

WOTC / Hasbro is almost certainly going to keep pushing for big commercial gain (we all get a drink every time Chris Cocks talks about AI!) but, for me, I think WOTC's most valuable role is bringing people who know very little about RPGs to D&D and then from D&D bringing them into the rest of the hobby around us.

I think, for the most part, they're accomplishing that goal. My only worry, which I've argued about in a thousand posts here, is the growth of centralization around D&D Beyond. I don't think it's a huge deal but I think it's a risk.

 

[MGibster]

I'd like to see it less centralised around a single game. I don't think that does the industry any favours.

You can say GURPS, nobody will get upset:

I would like to see gaming continue to be an activity we predominantly engage one another face-to-face. It’s the best way to socialize while playing a very social game.

 

[cranberry]

I thought Amber was diceless.

Oh, you mean this? I had no idea until I Googled it.

Amber Diceless Roleplaying Game - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Eyes of Nine]

An AR overlay platform built for smart glasses and haptic gloves, similar to Pokemon go; but that allows for 3rd party development. Such that you can walk down your street, and depending on the 3rd party mod you are have loaded, your local businesses could be skinned a la Shadowrun; or D&D; or Star Wars; or whatever. And you could meet up with your friends and have quests and adventures in "AR" universe of your choosing.

 

[delericho]

I prefer to play face to face and with as little technology at the table as possible. Online play is okay in a pinch, but I spend too much time in video calls to ever love it.

Away from the table, I'm happy to use any and all tools available.

I don't really care what games are popular or how they're presented.

It should go without saying that these are my preferences only; for the benefit of the wider market, support for many options is probably optimal.

 

[Gorgon Zee]

Looking backwards 30 years ago and comparing it to today’s experience of how I play, and using that to extrapolate to the future, here’s the changes I like and possible ways to continue that trend:

• Prettier, better edited and laid out books. In the future, online resources so I could say “how do I run a chase encounter” and get all the relevant info at once. Essentially, indexes on steroids.
• iPads and PDFs. So much nicer than laptops at the table. Better tablets in the future will just come naturally I expect, but the basics are good enough now.
• Options for online play. I am 75% FTF, but play online with a group. I mostly don’t play anything online that needs a VTT, so really just would like a better videoconferencing service aimed at gaming. Minor enhancement to discord will do it.

That’s really kind of it. Not any major changes in the last 30 years to the way I play. Any future changes i look for are “more of the same, only a bit better”.